Two men posing as police officers got into a family home in Sandbanks, Dorset, in February 2023. They tied up the mother, held her and her daughter at gunpoint and demanded the code to the safe, then left with watches, designer bags, jewellery and cash worth more than £200,000. One of them, a career criminal already on licence from a life sentence, was jailed for 16 years at Bournemouth Crown Court.
What it means
The detail that matters most is how they got in. The door was opened to them because they looked like police, with ID wallets and lanyards bought online to complete the picture.
For families at home, that is the lesson. A lanyard proves nothing. If someone you are not expecting says they are from the police, keep the door closed and check with the force directly before anyone comes in. Access control that vets who enters, while staying discreet, is part of what our Residential Security Teams provide.
Reported by the Bournemouth Echo.
First published by Barham Protection Services on 20 October 2024.
